Miracle on Little Cane Creek

Builders from three churches unite for a single ministry.

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – On June 24, University of the Cumberlands’ Mountain Outreach program held the dedication of the Miracle home in Taylor Meadows on Little Cane Creek. Work on the home, one of three being constructed by Mountain Outreach volunteers this summer, was begun on June 18 and completed on June 26 by Clemmons First Baptist Church from Winston-Salem, N.C.; Trinity North Brook Baptist Church, from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Green Meadows Baptist Church from Farmington, N.C. The home deserves its name not only because the family who will live there is named Miracle but also because it was constructed in only one week, even with delays for bad weather, including tornado warnings.

Tommy Love, project director from Clemmons First Baptist, has been coming to volunteer with Mountain Outreach since 1999. Love stated the project was, “Simply a good mission. The Lord uses our hands to build a home for someone in need.”

From Left to Right- Tommy Love, Marc Hensley, and Diane Brown dedicate the new home to the Miracle family.

David Gammel from Trinity North described the service as a good ministry, “Because it gets people involved outside of their own community.” Both Gammel and Love believe Mountain Outreach gives the volunteers a greater understanding of servitude and satisfaction from the experience. There were a total of 17 people from Trinity North Baptist Church and 41 from Clemmons First Baptist Church. Twelve others joined the team from Green Meadows Baptist Church.

Quoting from Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD the maker of heaven and earth,” and Psalm 91, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty,” Ray Brown from Clemmons spoke at the dedication ceremony. Brown’s wife, Diane, presented the Miracle family with a “Bless This Home” door mat and said that she was happy to hear so many people calling it a “home” instead of a “house.” Ray Brown concluded with a few words about Mountain Outreach. “What a privilege it has been to work with Mountain Outreach; the bonds we have created here will last.”

Marc Hensley, Director of Mountain Outreach, said to the volunteers, “Thank you always seems inadequate, but on behalf of Mountain Outreach, we would like to say, ‘Thank you!’ Thank you for your hard, hard work and effort; for what you mean to this community and this state. What you carry [out] across to this area does not go unnoticed. When people ask what you are doing here, you say, ‘Building a home for Christ.’ Don’t forget to always make it about Christ.”

The new homeowner expressed his gratitude and said, “Each and every one of you have a place in our hearts.”

Mountain Outreach is a service organization of University of the Cumberlands. Beginning in the 1980s, this program grew from a grass-roots effort by students who wanted to improve housing for some area families. Volunteer groups from several states come to help each summer, but students in the program work all year, making home repairs, building wheel-chair ramps and performing many other jobs for individuals and families who, for physical or financial reasons, might not be able to do the work themselves. The mission of Mountain Outreach is not to provide a hand out but a hand up. The deserving, hard working families who receive homes through the program help with the work of construction and pay for their homes through an interest-free mortgage with payments tailored to their incomes.

Located in Williamsburg, Ky., University of the Cumberlands is an institution of regional distinction, which currently offers four undergraduate degrees in 37 major fields of study; 30 minors; nine pre-professional programs; graduate degrees, including a doctorate and certifications in education, an MBA, a degree in physician assistant studies; and online programs.